Summary
- A FedEx Boeing 767 landed without its nose gear at Istanbul Airport, with the pilots skillfully handling the emergency situation.
- An investigation is underway involving both the Turkish authorities as well as FedEx.
- The aircraft in question was delivered to the airline in 2014.
There were some tense moments at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday when a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo aircraft had to land without its nose landing gear. The skills of the pilots were on full display as they successfully brought the plane down without causing a major accident.
FedEx Boeing 767 lands without the nose gear
On May 8, a FedEx Boeing 767, which was on a scheduled flight FX6238 from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Istanbul Airport, had to perform an emergency landing after its front landing gear failed to deploy.
According to Newsweek, the plane made a low pass first for the control tower to confirm the issue with the landing gear before touching down at 08:17 on runway 16R. Videos circulating on social media show the pilots held the nose up for as long as possible after the main landing gear touched down.
Then, sparks were observed when the nose of the aircraft made contact with the ground as the aircraft gradually came to a halt. The airport rescue and firefighting teams were at the scene within seconds and prevented the situation from escalating further. Thankfully, the pilots escaped, and no casualties were reported.
According to the Turkish Transport Ministry, the investigation team had reached the scene of the incident, and FedEx was also coordinating with the relevant authorities. The carrier said in a statement that it would “provide additional information as it is available.”
About the aircraft
The aircraft involved in the incident is a 9.46-year-old Boeing 767-300 freighter delivered to FedEx in December 2014. The carrier relies heavily on the type for its cargo operations and has a total of 137 B767-300F airplanes in its fleet, of which 131 are in active service, per ch-aviation.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Of course, FedEx flies a diverse fleet of planes and also operates Airbus A300 freighters, Boeing 757s and 777 freighters as well as MD-11F aircraft for its domestic and global operations.
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Tricky situation
Landing an aircraft following an issue with its landing gear can be quite tricky. The latest FedEx incident is one of several other landing-gear-related incidents that have happened over the years. In 1997, a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340 made a dramatic landing at London Heathrow Airport following an issue with its left main gear.
The aircraft sustained significant damage but was eventually repaired and returned to service. Despite the severity of the situation, there were, thankfully, no injuries reported.
In 2005, a JetBlue flight between Burbank and New York JFK had to perform an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport after its nose gear malfunctioned. When the crew could not retract the nose landing gear after takeoff, they diverted the flight to Long Beach, California, and performed a flyby for verification of the gear status.
Unfortunately, it was revealed that the nose landing gear was canted 90 degrees to the left. The A320 was equipped with satellite television, and news channels had enough time to film the landing. The bizarre situation meant the passengers could watch their own landing unfold on a screen in front of them. Thankfully, everyone onboard escaped unharmed.
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